Ohio State leads Wisconsin at half in ranked Big Ten affair

Ohio State basketball leads Wisconsin at the half. Here’s how.

The Ohio State basketball team struggled taking care of the ball, especially mid-way through the first half but found a way to lock down Wisconsin on the defensive end and come back to lead 34-29 heading into the break. the Buckeyes held the Badgers to just 38.7 % from the floor.

The lead could be more if OSU would simply take care of the ball. Give Wisconsin credit for its defense, but the Buckeyes were charitable too often, turning the ball over ten times and fueling points on the other end. It was so bad at one point that Wisconsin was able to build an eight-point advantage midway through the first twenty minutes.

OSU might have turned it over far too often, but Ohio State got some of those possessions back by significantly outrebounding the Badgers 22-10. It also has shot the ball well, taking advantage of opportunities on offense by knocking down 15-of-26 (57.7%).

E.J. Liddell leads Ohio State with 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting through the first half, with guard Cedric Russel chipping in seven-point, making all three of his attempts so far.

This is still going to be a physical battle the rest of the way and Ohio State needs to do a better job of taking care of the basketball in the second half. It’s hard to believe it could turn the ball over ten more times and expect to win.

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